US designates Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptian chapters of Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist and specially designated global terrorist groups: Read what it means

In a significant step towards dismantling the Islamic jihadist activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, the US government, on 13^th January, declared the Lebanese, Egyptian, and Jordanian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The move comes after, in November 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing his administration to initiate the process of designating specific chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as FTOs and SDGTs.

In a press statement, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, said that the designation of the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Lebanese chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as FTOs and SDGTs is a step towards “President Trump’s commitment to eliminate the capabilities and operations of Muslim Brotherhood chapters that pose a threat to the United States.”

Today, we are designating the Lebanese, Egyptian, and Jordanian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist groups. Under President Trump's leadership, the United States will eliminate the capabilities and operations of Muslim Brotherhood chapters that threaten U.S. citizens…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) January 13, 2026

“The Department of State is designating the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), and the group’s leader, Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh, as an SDGT. Concurrently, the Department of the Treasury is designating the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood as SDGTs for providing material support to Hamas,” Rubio said.

“These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs. The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism,” the Secretary of State added.

Founded in 1928 in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna, a teacher and Islamic scholar, the Muslim Brotherhood or Ikhwan al-Muslimin began as a Sunni Islamist movement that pivoted to violent Jihadist activities later. Over the decades, the Muslim Brotherhood has become a transnational Islamic terror network. Its objective is the establishment of Sharia law in various countries through violent and non-violent methods.

The Muslim Brotherhood has spawned several national chapters and affiliates globally, maintaining a non-violent and socio-political façade while secretively orchestrating or supporting Islamic terrorism.

Formally designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terror group has always been difficult for the US government. The organisation is decentralised, with different branches operating in multiple countries, many of which function independently. Because of this structure, legal experts and intelligence officials in Washington have often found it challenging to apply a blanket terrorist label to the entire movement.

To tackle this, specific chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood with proven links to Islamic terrorism are targeted and designated as terror groups.

Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood

In the recent designation, the US government declared the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood, also known as al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood as FTOs and SDGTs.

The Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood, also known as the al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah, was established in the 1960s as a branch of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. It functions mainly among Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim populace. The outfit has been involved in Lebanese politics and even held parliamentary seats. The Islamist outfit also ran educational and healthcare services; however, beyond the façade of charity, LMB has been involved in violent activities.

In fact, the LMB has a military wing known as the al-Fajr Forces (Dawn Forces), also known as Quwwat-al-Fajr. Many leaders of LMB, including Fathi Yakan and Abdallah Teriaqi, had become very close to Hezbollah, and by 2006, they defected and established the Islamic Action Front, a Sunni jihadist outfit aligned with a Shia counterpart.

Although the force was largely inoperative, during the 2023 Israel-Lebanon border clashes, al-Fajr reactivated itself and launched rockets into northern Israel. Al-Fajr also coordinated with Hezbollah and Hamas. In March 2024, al-Fajr jihadis were allegedly planning to carry out terror attacks against Israel, although the Israeli Defence Forces swung into action before the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood terrorists could execute the attack.

The LMB secretary general, Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh, has actively worked to push for a formal alliance with the Hezbollah-Hamas axis. Reports say that al-Fajr, in its present form, has over 1,000 active jihadis.

Within the LMB, there are two rival factions, one loyal to Qatar and Turkey, and the other aligned with Iran-backed Hezbollah and the Axis of Resistance. A 2021 internal election within the al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah resulted in the strengthening of the camp supporting an alliance with the Axis of Resistance, especially Salah al-Arouri, who was killed by Israel in January 2024 in Beirut. Since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October 2023, Israel is reported to have killed more than 15 al-Fajr jihadis for their active violent support to Hamas against Israel. In fact, al-Fajr operates as Hamas’s Lebanese military command.

Highlighting how despite claiming to have distanced itself from violence, the Muslim Brotherhood continues to actively support violent Jihadist activities, the US Treasury Department said, “Although the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Hamas has pledged allegiance, claims to have renounced violence, the Muslim Brotherhood branches designated today continue to promote, incite, and glorify terrorism that directly threatens the interests of the United States and its allies.”

Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood

Designated as an SDGT by the US Treasury Department in January 2026, the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood (JMB) was founded in 1945 by Abdel Latif Abou Qura. Initially, the Jordanian monarchy, led by young King Hussain I, approved and tolerated the JMB to quell dissent through charitable work rather than radicalism, to erect a counterbalance to secular Arab nationalists, and as a source of stability. However, this pragmatic and transactional alliance proved to be a Frankenstein’s monster for the monarchy as the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood grew stronger and pivoted from being a pillar of the monarchy to an enemy of the state.

Later in 1989, the JMB floated its political party, named Islamic Action Front, after Jordan underwent political liberalisation. In 1992, the Islamic Action Front became a licensed party. Although inextricable, the IAF and the JMB maintained separate leadership structures. The JMB-IAF, though it remain operational as opposition elements in Jordanian polity, has faced crackdowns amidst regional tensions, particularly during the 2011 Arab Spring and the Israel-Hamas War.

While the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood maintains an almost non-violent presence in Jordan, it has been linked with support to violence in the name of the ‘Palestinian cause’. The state of Jordan faced pressure from its Arab allies to ban the JMB. However, it remained reluctant to do so despite viewing their activities with suspicion and wanting to contain and control their activities.

However, with time, the Jordanian state shifted its position and in 2015, the government announced that it no longer recognises the Muslim Brotherhood as a legal organisation. It also refused to renew JMB’s license. It rather approved a new outfit named the Muslim Brotherhood Association, which the government deemed more reformist, moderate, and absolutely Jordan-focused.

In 2020, Jordan’s top court ordered the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood. However, this ruling could not be implemented due to the government’s deliberate inaction. Not to forget, JMB’s political wing, Islamic Action Front, is quite strong in the country, having won 31 out of 138 seats in the September 2024 elections.

In May 2025, Jordan officially banned the original Muslim Brotherhood (JMB) and seized its assets in the country. This decision came right after the Jordanian authorities arrested 16 people, including JMB members, over an alleged sabotage conspiracy. While the JMB was outlawed, the Islamic Action Front was not subjected to a ban, though the latter’s offices were raided and its future remains uncertain.

What made the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood ‘eligible’ for designation as an SDGT was its operatives collaborating with foreign terror entities for manufacturing rockets, explosives, and drones, in addition to recruiting new jihadis. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says that the elements with connections to the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and abroad have “facilitated this work by raising money through illegal means.”

“The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Hamas,” the US Treasury Department said.

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood

Another jihadist terrorist entity designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), is the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (EMB), which can be called the parent body of all Muslim Brotherhood chapters worldwide.

The Muslim Brotherhood, or Ikhwan al-Muslimin, was founded in 1928 in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna, a teacher and Islamic scholar. The Islamist outfit’s foundation was based on the premise of anti-Western colonialism and the supposed erosion of Islamic values in the post-Ottoman world. Al-Banna launched the Muslim Brotherhood as a pan-Islamist movement which focused on charity and Islamist advocacy.

In its early years, the Muslim Brotherhood or Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood filled gaps left by weak and nonchalant governments by building schools, hospitals and mosques for the poor and illiterate people in Egypt while also preaching Islam and ‘Tawhid’ (Allah’s oneness and supremacy) as some antidote to secularism and imperialism. The motto of the Muslim Brotherhood makes abundantly clear that, though it may not have initially been linked to violence, ‘Jihad’ has always been its way.

The Brotherhood’s motto says, “Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”

By the 1930s, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood had gained thousands of members and entered politics as well. However, the Islamist outfit had a paramilitary wing called the Secret Apparatus or al-Nizam al-Khas. This wing carried out political assassinations and jihadist violence. In 1948, the Secret Apparatus members assassinated Prime Minister Mahmoud El Nokrashy Pasha for banning the Islamist outfit. In 1949, al-Banna was murdered by the Egyptian Secret Police in retaliation for Pasha’s murder.

The members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s Secret Apparatus used to undergo heavy physical and military training. They were trained to use firearms and carry out underground operations. Emphasising deception and secrecy (Taqqiya), the Jihadists belonging to the Apparatus infiltrate and subvert political parties, armies, intelligence, media, educational institutions and even NGOs.

While in non-Muslim countries like the UK, violence may not be the go-to tactic of the Muslim Brotherhood. They rely on using media, politics, educational institutions, and charities for the furtherance of the Islamic jihadist agenda.

In 2012, EMB won the elections and picked Mohamed Morsi as President. However, in 2013, a military coup led by then-General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ousted Morsi. The Islamist outfit was banned and declared a terrorist organisation in Egypt.

The Muslim Brotherhood continues to be seen as a threat to political stability by many authoritarian governments in the Middle East and North Africa. Recently, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Muslim Brotherhood, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, would be considered “foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organisations.”

Notably, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, and Russia have already designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation. Jordan banned the group in April 2025 after arresting people linked to the movement who were accused of plotting attacks using rockets and drones. In January 2026, the UAE discontinued funding for its citizens interested in studying in the United Kingdom (UK) after the UK refused to ban the Islamic terror outfit.

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood also inspired Maulana Abul Ala Maududi’s Jamaat-e-Islami in the 1940s. Banned Islamic terror outfits like the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Popular Front of India (PFI), both of which have been involved in Jihadist attacks against Hindus and are working on plans to turn India into an Islamic nation, draw inspiration from Muslim Brotherhood tactics.

Before going after the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the US already designated many of EMB’s violent offshoots as FTOs and SDGTs, including Hamas

The US has previously designated various Islamic outfits for their links with the Muslim Brotherhood. These MB violent offshoots include the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), Gama’a al-Islamiyya (IG), Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hamas, Harakat Sawa’d Misr (HASM), and Liwa al-Thawra. All of these violent jihadist offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood were founded in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Egyptian Islamic Jihad carried out violent attacks on high-level Egyptian government officials and was responsible for the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Ayman al-Zawahiri led this outfit before fully merging with al-Qaeda in June 2001. The US designated EIJ an FTO in 1997 and an SDGT in 2001.   

Gama’a al-Islamiyya (IG), which aimed to establish an Islamic state in Egypt, had its leader, Omar Abd al-Rahman, known as the “blind Sheikh,” jailed in the US on a life sentence for his role in the World Trade Centre bombing. 

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operates to obliterate Israel and has been involved in various attacks on Israel, including the Hamas-led massacre of Israeli people on 7^th October 2023. This Muslim Brotherhood proxy was designated an FTO by the US in 1997 and an SDGT in 2001.

Palestinian Islamic terror group Hamas also traces its links with the Muslim Brotherhood, and was designated an FTO in 1997 and an SDGT in 2001. In addition to the countless attacks it has carried out against Israel since its foundation in 1988, Hamas committed the October 7 massacre in Israel, brutally killing over 1200 people, and kidnapping over 240 people.

OpIndia earlier reported about the Palestinian Islamic terror group Hamas claiming the country of Israel as a ‘Waqf’ property in its 1988 Covenant or Charter and vowing to continue Jihad against Jews until the last one of them is killed. Hamas enjoys the support of the Muslim Brotherhood and joined the Palestinian terror group in carrying out airstrikes against Israeli civilians and military after the October 7 2023, massacre.

Through its 2017 document, Hamas tried to distance itself from the Muslim Brotherhood, apparently, to improve its relations with Egypt. Hamas also softened its stance on fighting the Jews by distinguishing between Zionists and Jews. The Islamic terror group’s actions since then have exposed their duplicity. The indiscriminate killing of Jews on 7^th October 2023 laid bare Hamas’s hypocrisy and hatred for Jews.

Formed in 2015, Harakat Sawa’d Misr (HASM) is another Egyptian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, dedicated to overthrowing the Egyptian government. In 2016, HASM attempted an assassination of Egypt’s former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa. In 2017, HASM attempted the assassination of Egyptian National Security Agency officer Ibrahim Azzazy. In 2019, HASM jihadis carried out a car-bomb explosion near a hospital in Cairo, killing 20 people. The US designated HASM as an SDGT in 2018 and an FTO in 2021.

Designated an SDGT in 2018, Liwa al-Thawra is another major EMB offshoot. Jihadis belonging to this outfit carried out the October 2016 assassination of Brigadier General Adel Ragai, commander of the Egyptian army’s Ninth Armoured Division, outside his home in Cairo. In 2017, Liwa al-Thawra bombed a police training centre in the Egyptian city of Tanta. 

The implications of the Muslim Brotherhood Egypt, Jordan and Lebanese chapters getting designated as FTOs and SDGTs

In consequence of the designation of the Jordanian, Egyptian, and Lebanese chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood getting designated as FTOs and SDGTs by the US, all property and interests in property of the designated entities and persons, in the US or in the US’s possession, would be blocked and reported to the Treasury Department’s OFAC.

Furthermore, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 per cent or more by one or more blocked persons would also be blocked. 

In addition, all transactions by US persons or within (or transiting) the US that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons shall be prohibited unless authorised by a general or specific license issued by OFAC. Violations of sanctions will invite civic penalties by the OFAC.

Moreover, financial entities and other individuals may face sanctions for engaging in certain transactions or activities involving designated or otherwise blocked persons.  

“The making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated or blocked person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person,” the US Treasury Department said, adding that engagement with designated persons and groups may also invite secondary sanctions on participating foreign financial institutions.